In commercial or consumer transactions, a check may be used as a method of payment. Information such as a check number may be shown in magnetic ink characters at a predetermined position on a front surface of the check along with a monetary amount and an authorizing signature. The magnetic ink characters are read by a magnetic ink character reader (MICR) including a magnetic head.
Usually, a magnetic head is disposed in a transport path of the check, and the magnetic ink characters are recognized using data obtained by scanning the check in a first direction and then a second direction opposite to the first direction.
However, such related art requires reading the check at least twice in different directions and is often ineffective and slow.